Health drinks market set to grow by a third

Irish food firms are developing a new generation of probiotic drinks which claim to help prevent common health problems like heart attacks and obesity.

Scientists say the products are designed to provide medicine as well as nutrition and consumers may lose weight and reduce their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

The "functional food" market in Ireland was worth €46m in 2005 and is set to grow by a third this year due to heavy advertising and marketing campaigns.

Products by firms like Danone, Yakult and Benecol already claim to boost the immune system and aid digestion.

However Irish dairy firms are now using teams of scientists to produce hi-tech probiotic drinks which they say will help busy consumers maintain a balanced daily diet.

The shot drinks, to be taken daily, contain essential minerals and nutrients like calcium, potassium and plant sterols which are easily absorbed into the system.

The Labour Party’s food spokesperson Dr Mary Upton today welcomed the benefits of functional foods like probiotic drinks but called on the Food Safety Authority of Ireland to closely monitor the accuracy and clarity of the labelling of such products.

“It’s good to see science playing a positive role in food production and in the health of consumers,” she said.

“However is very important that the consumer is not misled because this is a huge industry now. Supermarket chains like Tesco are even producing own-brand products.

“Clear and accurate labelling information is crucial for the credibility of the market and all product claims must be backed up by scientific research.”

“Consumers must have confidence in the product and understand what they are buying.”

Irish dairy giant, Glanbia has produced a range of products which help to prevent increasingly-common ailments like heart disease, obesity and osteoporosis.

A team of 35 scientists at the company’s new R&D innovation centre in Kilkenny have developed the ’Yoplait Essence’ range of six shot drinks which each claim to produce stronger bones, improve digestion, boost the immune system, help lose weight, lower blood pressure and cholesterol and boost vitamins intake.

Head of R&D at Glanbia, Denis Carrigan said: “Functional foods like probiotic drinks not only provide nutrition but must also optimise health benefits.

“They are designed to complement a healthy diet as consumers often can’t get their recommended five pieces of fruit or vegetables a day because of busy lifestyles spent working and commuting.”

Glanbia scientists carried out a three-year medical and social research study to develop products which could optimise the health of consumers as well as providing nutritional benefits.

An AC Nielsen consumer survey conducted last summer found that health was the top concern for Irish people, with cancer, heart disease and stress being the biggest worries.

Diseases of the cardiovascular system like heart attacks and strokes are now responsible for 43% of all deaths in Ireland.

More than half of Irish adults were overweight while about 110,000 have osteoporosis with many others in the early stages of the ailment.

Dr Upton, a Dublin South Central TD, also called on the Government to allocate more funding for R&D in the Irish food industry.

“We need to establish and maintain our own niche within the global market so we can take on the likes of the Japanese and the US,” she explained.

In further advances, food scientists are now studying the individual responses of the estimated 20 human gene types to certain foods in a bid to further optimise health benefits.

Nutrigenomics – the study of how our diet interacts with our bodies – is central to this emerging science.

In Japan, the functional foods market is growing three times the rate of Ireland and the latest products contain collagen which claim to aid women’s beauty as well as health.